PCMag StaffWhat's Next for Space Travel? New Exhibit Goes 'Beyond Planet Earth'With space enthusiasts celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first human space flight this year, the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan is turning its attention to the future.

1Beyond Planet Earth

2Future Space Capsule

In the future, astronauts might head to the International Space Station, the Moon, or even to asteroids and to Mars in a space capsule like this one currently being built for NASA by a team led by Lockheed Martin. (Image: AMNH\D. Finnin)

3Russian Helmet

This enamel-coated helmet is an original prototype of a helmet intended to be worn by cosmonauts (the Russian term for astronauts) on the Moon. By 1969, the top-secret Soviet manned lunar program was in disarray, and the program was later cancelled.

4Vostok Capsule

On April 12, 1961, Soviet fighter-pilot-turned-cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person in space. Flying in a simple spacecraft, the Vostok 1, Gagarin orbited the planet once during his 108-minute flight. (Image: AMNH\R. Mickens)

5Lunar Sample Bag

6Mars Meteorite

This piece of hardened lava came from Mars. After being knocked off the Martian surface by an asteroid or comet, it drifted in space for millions of years, until it reached Earth and fell to the ground as a meteorite. (Image: AMNH\D. Finnin)

7Hubble

The Hubble Space Telescope diorama re-creates a crucial moment in 2009, when astronaut John Grunsfeld installed the new Wide Field Camera 3, the device that currently captures many of Hubble’s most amazing images. (Image: AMNH\R. Mickens)

8Beyond Planet Earth App

With an iOS app, users can activate 11 augmented reality icons through the exhibition. They unlock animations and let visitors share images via email, Facebook, and Twitter, as well as access a site with space-themed links (Image: AMNH\D. Finnin)

9Beyond Planet Earth App

10Lunar Base Model

11Bigelow Moon Habitat

Made with walls of reinforced fabric, expandable spacecraft like this model by the private space company Bigelow Aerospace—shown here in one-third scale—may one day house astronauts on the Moon. (Image: AMNH\D. Finnin)

12Lunar Elevator

If humans do set up a base on the Moon, we would eventually need a way to get materials to and from the Moon’s surface. Spacecraft have to travel 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) per second—faster than a speeding bullet— to launch off the surface of the Moon. A lunar elevator that would carry humans from the moon towards a space station where they would catch a ride back to Earth could sharply reduce that effort and expense. (Image: AMNH\D. Finnin)

13Liquid Mirror Telescope Interactive

Like all liquid mirror telescopes, this model relies on a a mirror that forms when a special liquid spins smoothly at a constant speed. The telescope reflects and focuses light toward a target, forming an image.

20BioSuit

21BioSuit

These suits are made up of a tight, stretchy fabric made of spandex, nylon, and a new, patented polymer that replaces compressed air, making them lighter and more maneuverable. The suits maintain pressure even when torn and are custom-fitted using a laser scanner.